It's something we need everyday in our diets, water. And now a company says it has created a formula for special water that can fight the aging process that shows up on the skin, so can the skin can become beautiful from the inside out.

It was just in February when Wrinkle-Free Friday looked into the new buzz in anti-aging products for the skin.  Studies and promotional videos emerging from Europe claimed that nutraceuticals could improve your skin from the inside out.

Cosmeceuticals are creams you put on your skin, nutraceuticals are vitamins, antioxidants and minerals you swallow to help your skin.  Doctors said then that vitamins and healthful foods have always been an important part of how your skin looks.

Well now there another nutraceutical in the limelight.  Borba Skin Balance Water has four formulas specifically for wrinkles, oily skin, dry skin and firming. 

"Borba, I think, is an interesting product it is enhanced water that uses two things that we know are good for skin, water and antioxidants," says Metairie dermatologist Dr. Patricia Farris. 

Dermatologists say antioxidants put on the skin can definitely make a difference. You've seen those Vitamin C creams and serums on the market.  But can this drink make a difference?

"There may be some benefits to it but I don't think that people should think that if they use these products that they don't need to use sunscreens and retinols and maybe even see a dermatologist to get a laser treatment or maybe even see a plastic surgeon to get a facelift.  There are limitations to what you can do,” says New Orleans dermatologist Dr. Mary P. Lupo. 

"The idea is that you can drink a high energy drink maybe with antioxidants and lots of vitamins and that this will somehow improve your skin. Now the basic thesis of this is true: if you have good nutrition, your skin is going to look better but there are lots of ways to achieve that and you don't need to go for a specific energy drink to do that, says Metairie dermatologic surgeon Dr. William Coleman.

Lots of ways like including a variety of fruits and vegetables in your diet, especially the dark ones.  

"I don't think they are positioning this product as an alternative to healthy eating because it is not but it does have the highest quantity of antioxidants of any water drink. It's also sugar free, it's carbohydrate free, it's calorie free, so we like that," adds Dr. Farris. 

"I think that in general the use of nutraceuticals and supplements should be seen as adjunctive to good diet," adds Dr. Lupo. 

But remember what experts look for is science, good, fair, independently funded studies that show that this or any product or treatment is protecting or reversing photo-aging and damage in the skin tissue.  Everyone of our experts say, on Borba, there are no data in any of the scientific journals. 

"I have not seen any studies that show that oral antioxidants can make a difference," says LSU Health Sciences Center dermatologist Dr. Elizabeth McBurney who practices in Slidell and New Orleans.  

"That maybe the best thing in the world but if there's no study you can not claim if it's good or bad," adds Metairie and LSU Health Sciences Center plastic surgeon Dr.  Kamran Khoobehi.

The company, Anheuser-Busch, Inc., says it has done some clinical studies on Borba, but since it is not making any claims based on these trials, the study findings will not be released.  Its spokespeople say water is hydrating and important for healthy skin and the ingredients in Borba Skin Balance Water are known to help promote healthy skin.

Dermatologists say they hope, over time, there will be some credible scientific studies published on nutraceutals.

"I do think that dermatologists are revisiting this. I know we are revisiting it in the acne arena.  There studies starting to come out on acne that show that perhaps what you do eat affects the way your skin reacts.  So I think we are taking a second look at how nutrition affects the skin," adds Dr. Farris.

So while doctors say Borba doesn't seem to hurt and may help, it's not a substitute for lifestyle.

"The younger you are when you take control of your diet and your habits using sunscreens the greater your chances that you will not need to see a dermatologist or a plastic surgeon.  But if you wait until you're 45 to start doing all this stuff, it's a day late and a dollar short," adds Dr. Lupo.

Borba costs around $3 a bottle.